Compromise
by whatcanidomolly
Summary: This isn't your typical fanfiction. It doesn't start off with students boarding the train, or getting a letter, or even being sorted. It starts when things have already begun. However, some things have yet to happen. RosexScorpius.
1. Rude Awakening

Rose woke with a start. As she tried to sit up, her head collided with something hard. She heard a sharp intake of breath.

"_Oi_! Watch it, Weasley,"came the muffled voice of the last person Rose wanted to see in the morning. Except she wasn't seeing him, since it was completely dark in her dorm.

"What the—what are you doing in here, Malfoy? How did you get in? We each have passwords to get in, and I haven't told anyone!" she said, groggily, words seeming to collide with her tongue.

"You _really_ shouldn't keep all your top secret information on the same piece of parchment in your favorite book, Weasley," he drawled. "Makes it even easier to read you."  
>Although Rose's eyes were still adjusting, she could just hear the smirk in his voice.<p>

"So why, may I ask, have you been looking through my things and why am I awake at this hour?" she asked, rolling over and hiding her face in her pillow.

"Well, I decided we should go get breakfast early to discuss our duties, since I don't particularly want to be seen talking with you in the Great Hall." Scorpius replied.

"Oh, right…because that would be such a bad thing for _you_." Rose snorted, snuggling deeper into her bed, trying to remember the dream she'd been having. Something to do with pumpkin pasties. Her stomach growled underneath her sheets. Scorpius chuckled softly.

"Hmm…seems your stomach agrees with me. Get up, and meet me in our common room in fifteen minutes." Rose groaned, and squeezed her eyes shut tighter as she heard Malfoy leaving her room.

"I have got to change my password." She muttered, willing herself to roll out of bed and stumble to the shower.

...

...

"Is miss Weezy wanting anything else to eat?" squeaked a little elf at her elbow.

"No Mubby, I'm so full. That was delicious. Give my compliments to everyone as usual, mmkay?" Rose replied warmly. The elf blushed all the way up to her large ears, bowed, and scurried off.

"As usual? You often sneak off to the kitchens?" inquired Malfoy, lazily finishing a piece of toast.

"Mum...well, she basically recruited me, Hugo, and all of our cousins into her...Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare." Rose said swiftly, hoping Scorpius wouldn't put together the acronym.

"Ah...my dad told me about that. Your mum and her weird obsession with house elves."  
>Rose ignored his comment, brushing a few muffin crumbs from her robes.<p>

"Hmm, meeting adjourned then?" she asked, meeting his grey eyes.

"Yeah, I'll notify the Ravenclaw and Slytherin prefects of the schedule change, and you make sure you tell Hufflepuff and Gryffindor." he stated simply.

"Right then...see you for patrol." said Rose, standing up.  
>Scorpius watched her walk away, then shook himself slightly. He crumpled his napkin, tossing it on his plate, and making sure Rose was out of sight, left a couple of knuts on the table.<p> 


	2. Stumbling

Scorpius lay on his bed, reading his Arithmancy book, brow furrowed. A sudden knock came to his door. He didn't respond, biting his lip, trying to understand the passage. The knock came louder, more urgent.

"Yes?" replied Scorpius, setting his book down and rubbing his tired eyes.

"Oi, Malfoy, we have patrol tonight, remember?" came Rose's impatient voice through the door.

"Oh I must've completely forgotten! Hold on—got to get my pants on."

Scorpius lied, curling into his pillow. A minute passed in which Scorpius fell into a sort of daze.

"Er…Scorpius, are you clothed now?" inquired Rose.

"Putting on my socks," mumbled Scorpius, grinning into his pillow.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake! Malfoy get out here!"

Scorpius thought he heard a foot stamp on the ground outside his room. He sprung off his bed, slipped on his shoes, and opened the door so quickly that Rose, who had been leaning her head against the door, fell forward.

"Watch it, Weasley." Scorpius said, catching her by the shoulders.

"Sorry, you simply took _ages_." Rose replied, grinning cheekily up at him, her blue eyes flashing.

"Your hair is messy." She commented matter-of-factly as she stepped back swiftly, wrenching herself from his warm grasp, and started walking to the Heads' Dorm exit. Scorpius stood there for a moment, then followed, now fully awake.

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"Rose, are you kidding me? You don't honestly believe the Cannons have a spot in the finals, do you? They're almost as bad at Quidditch as old Binns is at keeping Marty McClellan awake in class, and McClellan has _narcolepsy_!"

"Oh, honestly…that has nothing to do with Quidditch. You really think the Cannons don't have at least as much chance as Puddlemere? You've got to be joking. This isn't our _parents'_ league anymore, Scorpius. It's been years since the Cannons were outright terrible." Rose responded vehemently.

"Frankly, I don't care about Puddlemere United or the Chudley Cannons. All I'm saying is—" Scorpius' speech was cut short, due to the fact that he suddenly tumbled to the ground, hitting the stone floor with a loud smack of his hands. He had tripped over the spear of a suit of armor that had been pulled out. Rose heard a sneering giggle come from behind the metal, and Peeves appeared above them, smirking.

"Ooh, Malfoy's lost his footing. Must run in the family." he chortled. "Students out of bed!" he called, in an awful impression of Argus Filch (Uncle George couldn't believe the old croaker was still alive, let alone still at Hogwarts.)

"Peeves, we're doing patrols. Why don't you go torture some other students? I have some great ideas for some snogging fifth years on the fourth floor." said Rose, raising her eyebrows. Peeves looked at her, scowling, and replied

"I liked your uncles better. They weren't hoity-toity." He sniffed, whizzing away, blowing a raspberry.

"Well I guess there are some perks of being a Weasley besides having loads of freckles and crazy red hair." Smirked Scorpius.

"What do you mean?" asked Rose, turning towards him, hand on her hip.

"Nothing. Only that he could've given you a lot more trouble than that." Shrugged Scorpius.

"Oh, he's growing soft in his old…does he age?" she wondered out loud. Scorpius chuckled softly.

"No, I think he just has a sort of respect for your dad's twin brothers. None for my family, though." He turned, continuing their course before Rose could comment.

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Author's note: Please review! Honestly the reviews are what got me to try another chapter. A special shout out to those of you who did! Thanks!


	3. Get it Together, Ewan!

(Author's note: Personal Headcanon-Dennis named his son Ewan Colin Creevey in honor of his older brother who died in the battle of Hogwarts. Ewan, who was always curious about his namesake and no story about Colin was kept from him, took up his uncle's hobby of photography. Don't worry, I know what's up!)

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Rose sat in the Heads' Common Room, cross-legged on the squishy, long couch with an Ancient Runes book in her lap. As her eyes stared unfocused at the page, she put her crazy, red curls into a high bun to get them out of her already blurry vision. Rose huffed impatiently, doing every little thing _besides_ focusing on her extensive reading assignment. Laying her heavy head on the armrest of the couch, she decided to take a short nap.

Rose heard a soft chuckle.

"Oh, where's Ewan Creevey when you need him?" said a humorous, familiar voice. Rose groggily opened her eyes to see the pointy nose of Scorpius Malfoy, his grey eyes staring down at her.

"You drool in your sleep, Weasley," noted Scorpius blithely.

Rose hurriedly sat up, unsticking her wet (and now very red) cheek from the leather couch. She thought it best not to reply. Scorpius simply watched her as she wiped her face on the sleeve of her t-shirt, grimacing.

"That's definitely a good look for you, Rose," he grinned, glancing at her messy hair and sweats.

"Why thank you, Malfoy," replied Rose in a scratchy voice, rubbing her eyes, yet smiling. " I seem to be seeing you when I wake up on a regular basis. My drooling isn't really _that_ adorable, is it?" she smirked, yawning.

Scorpius, after his eyes widened ever so slightly, gave a delayed smirk in reply to her comment.

"What time is it?" she asked, not noticing his reprieve, and setting the book that had previously been in her lap on top of her large stack of others.

"Half past six. You missed dinner," he replied, noting her quick response even in her sleepy state. "Want to go get something from the kitchens?" he asked, shoving her books on the ground to sit next to her.

"Honestly, I'm hungry as an ox. But I'm too tired to move," she said, snuggling into the cushions.

"Rose, you have to eat," replied Scorpius, laying back on the other half of the couch, his arms behind his fair head.

"Then be a good Head Boy and go get me a sandwich from the kitchens," Rose said, raising an eyebrow at him challengingly whilst cuddling a pillow to her Quidditch-built frame.

"Now how would I look carrying a sandwich up to you? I'd be made out as your little slave! We're _partners_ in this business, Weasley," he said matter-of-factly.

"Hmm…make it two sandwiches, then. Your arrogance is making me hungrier."

"Hungrier, huh? Well "we Malfoys have to keep up appearances!"" Scorpius said in his best impression of his grandfather.

Rose smiled lazily, then, quite suddenly and taking Scorpius completely by surprise, she poked her big toe into his abdomen. Scorpius sucked in a large amount of air, making a funny sound, and simultaneously flexed his stomach out of instinct.

"What was that for?" inquired Scorpius loudly, attempting to simply push her leg off of the couch, but sending Rose completely off of her comfortable resting place.

"Well, I wanted to see how nicely you could-keep up- "appearances" when challenged!" she choked out, laughing quite heartily in a heap on the floor. She pulled herself up, and feigned a pompous air (which she had perfected, being the niece of Percy Weasley) as she made to sit back on the couch. Then, going in for the kill again, Rose whacked Scorpius on the head with the pillow she'd been clutching.

"And _that_ is for pushing me off the couch," she grinned, settling herself back in her seat.

Completely flabbergasted, Scorpius simply stared at her, his usually perfect hair mussed slightly.

"What? Malfoys don't have tickle fights or hit each other with-"

But Rose never finished her sentence because Scorpius sprang at her with such a force that they both fell of the couch, and he started tickling her with all of his energy. Rose was giggling uncontrollably (to her own shame, because she often made fun of giggly girls) whilst Scorpius simultaneously tickled her and whomped her with the throw pillow.

"St-STOP" cried Rose, feeling helpless and embarrassed, her already wild hair going crazy from the pillow. She had tears streaming out of the corners of her eyes from her fierce laughter.

"What, never lost to a combined tickle AND pillow fight?" Scorpius jeered playfully.

"NO! I never"-she shrieked—"lose!"

"Well you'd better admit that I won or I'll just keep going," he replied, setting the pillow down behind her head and devoting both of his hands to tickling her.

Rose wavered on whether to give up, or to pee her pants from laughing and just let Malfoy suffer for it. She decided that the second option would simply be too awkward and might be used as blackmail, so she decided on the first.

"Alright! You win!" she said in a strangled voice.

Slightly surprised, but pleased nonetheless, Scorpius smiled down at her, chuckling. "See Rose, you don't always have to win." He grinned and stared into her bright blue eyes, which were sparkling. Scorpius looked down at her, noting her out of control hair falling out of the messy bun in places, waiting for a response, which really was to the benefit of Rose, as she had grabbed the pillow from behind her back, and swiftly jumped on top of him and beat him soundly with it.

"Yes," she gasped in a whisper, laughing softly, long nose close to his pointed one "I do."

Scorpius seemed stupefied, unmoving, staring into her eyes whilst his white-blond locks fell into his own. Rose seemed to come to her senses, blinked profusely, and leapt off of him.

Scorpius cleared his throat, heat rising to his porcelain cheeks. He noticed Rose's uncovered ears were raddish-red, and her freckles seemed to be on fire. But that could just be from the exertion of hitting him over the head, he chided silently to himself. He decided this wasn't going to be an awkward moment for either of them.

"Well, since you're up, want to go get those sandwiches together?" he asked, grinning with a (seemingly) confident smile on his face.

"Sure," Rose grinned, brushing strands of fiery hair from her still pink face.

And aggravatingly enough, they walked down to the kitchens together, both trying to ignore what had just happened, telling themselves they had imagined that electric charge (Rose attributing it to the static in her hair from the pillow) between them. Because Weasleys and Malfoys were not supposed to have any kind of flame between them unless it was that of hatred. Which, really, seemed like a shame to both of them as they meandered down the halls, both trying to overcompensate for and cover up what had so nearly been a spark.

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Author's note: Ugh! So cheesy! Sorry guys, I just…was having the worst bit of writer's block, but I felt guilty for making you wait so long, so…you just read the result. Bleh. Don't worry, it will get better. But in the meantime, please review! I really would love that feedback! It might help me with my obvious writing block. Anyway, thanks for reading!


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